


It's Coming

by Maiika



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: saiyan saga
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-13
Updated: 2017-10-13
Packaged: 2019-01-16 21:48:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12351225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maiika/pseuds/Maiika
Summary: Piccolo could run from what was coming for him, but he couldn't escape it.  Preparing for the arrival of the Saiyans after Goku's death was stressful.  More stressful than he consciously realized.





	It's Coming

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sifl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sifl/gifts).



Thump.  
  
The ground shook.  Piccolo heard a distant tremble from the mountains as his eyes shot open.  As the hazy outline of the moon in the starry sky came into focus, quiet once again filled the air.  Piccolo closed his eyes as soft blades of grass trembled against his fingers.  He listened.  It was possible he'd only imagined the disruption, but-  
  
A monstrous _roar_ echoed through the mountains.  
  
Piccolo's eyes bulged as he sat up straight, a chill crawling up his spine.  Now he definitely hadn't imagined _that_.  As crashes sounded in the distance, Piccolo hopped to his feet and looked through the darkness, over the black outline of dense trees.  Mountainsides were crumbling, shaking the ground as the pieces landed.  A giant fist flashed across the sky.  
  
Not many ominous sounds or sights could make the mighty Piccolo tremble, but the glimpse of the gigantic creature that created that roar made his throat instantly run dry.  He'd only encountered that monster once in his life.  He thought he'd never have to face it again.  
  
Piccolo's gaze snapped to the moon lighting the sky as he balled his fists.  "Why is it still there?  I destroyed it!"  
  
Growling, Piccolo turned and leapt into the sky.  His feet touched the nearest peak before he bounced off to the next one.  He was putting distance between himself and the massive creature. He had to find a safe place to make his move and destroy that moon, to do away with the threatening ape.  
  
Piccolo could hear the giant ape on his heels, crashing destructively through the mountains.  Louder and louder.  The roars and crashes followed his every move, and no matter how much progress he made or how he flashed by at speeds making him invisible to the human eye, the mountainous peaks seemed to go on and on while the giant ape's roars grew to a deafening crescendo.  
  
When monstrous footsteps shook the ground so hard it nearly knocked Piccolo off his feet, he ceased his run.  He steadied himself as a deep roar vibrated all the way up from his toes to the top of his head.  It was right behind him.  Piccolo grit his teeth as the ape's stinking breath swept over him, hitting his back like a heat wave.  
  
One wrong move, and it was over.  The creature hovering over him could squash him like a bug with a careless swing of its fist.  Or its tail.  Piccolo knew he was fast, but he couldn't be sure he'd dodge in time.  Another gust of warm, putrid air made Piccolo cringe.  The humidity was palpable.  Piccolo could practically feel the giant ape's drool hanging over his head.  
  
"Pi...cco...lo..."  
  
Piccolo's eyes bulged as the deep voice rang in his astute ears.  The ape could speak.  And it sounded angry.  
  
It growled.  "Pi...ccolo!!"  
  
Piccolo jumped.  He blasted into the sky faster than he ever had before.  His heart nearly leapt from his chest when a thick, furry tail cut through the air ahead of him.  He pulled his legs up just in time.  They were nearly knocked off at the knees.  That huge tail was a deadly weapon.  
  
"Gohan!" Piccolo yelled, desperately trying to reach the little boy inside the ape.  
  
The ape either didn't hear him or was indifferent to his plea.  Its red eyes narrowed before a fist swiped at Piccolo, forcing him tumbling through the air with the waves of power it exerted.  The only benefit to the strike was that it put some distance between them.  
  
"Dammit!  No!" Piccolo yelled as he extended his arm toward the moon.  
  
He spread his fingers wide, his claws stretching toward the dark, starry sky as the animal bared its gigantic teeth.  Piccolo narrowed his brows.  Focus.  He had to do this fast, but if he didn't take the time to concentrate first, this attempt was pointless.  
  
"Gohan," he tried again as the creature shifted toward him.  "Gohan!"  
  
The monstrous ape opened and flexed its powerful fists while its large tail whipped through the air, effortlessly chopping off the top of the mountain behind it.  Piccolo focused his gaze on the glow of the yellow-white moon past his outstretched fingertips.  
  
The ape growled.  It stepped toward him.  As much as Piccolo tried to ignore Gohan and focus his power on the moon, he couldn't help but notice the transformed Saiyan closing in on him.  He was within its reach.  It was going to attack.  
  
As it thrust its fists in the air, growling victoriously at the night sky, Piccolo let loose his own scream.  Bared his teeth at the moon.  Let the power unleash from his palm.  
  
His bright white beam cut across the black sky, but disappeared when a wave of pain struck Piccolo throughout his entire body.  He clenched his eyes shut as he was squeezed, nothing but his head escaping the tomb of a giant fist closing around him.  Piccolo writhed.  Screamed as he fought the crushing pain boxing him in.  It was no use.  
  
"G-Go...han," he choked.  
  
Piccolo could hardly breathe.  It couldn't end this way.  Killed by the son of his enemy.  Training Son Goku's kid was a mistake.  No, he refused to die like this.  He had to be there to fight when those Saiyans arrived.  
  
Piccolo shook his head furiously.  "No!"  
  
The ape laughed.  Its laughter was deep, ominously chilling for a sound expressing amusement.  But the ape _was_ amused.  Haughty.  Instantly with that laugh, Piccolo knew this _wasn't_ Gohan.  He furrowed his brows as he looked into the Saiyan's massive eyes narrowing into slits.  
  
Its mouth twisted in a sinister smile.  "I told you I'd never let you beat me."  
  
The ape's deep, taunting laugh echoed off the remnants of mountains still surrounding them as Piccolo was crushed further.  Piccolo's jaw dropped as he choked in disbelief.  A new fear washed over him as he realized he was not in the grip of a young boy who'd lost control of his senses, but a man who had his senses intact.  Who planned to kill Piccolo.  Who wanted revenge.  A man he should've realized long ago wasn't human.  
  
_But that's impossible!_ Piccolo argued with himself.  
  
Piccolo knew it had to be possible for Goku to do what his son did, but he had never seen Goku transform like this. And Goku was dead.  Piccolo remembered killing him himself!  
  
The ape's red eyes flashed before Piccolo was slowly raised in the air within its tightly held grip.  Piccolo couldn't worry about _how_ this was Son Goku any longer.  He _knew_ it was him.  And somehow, Goku managed to return in this monstrous form to avenge his own death.  
  
The ape's jagged white teeth shimmered in the moonlight as his mouth opened.  While facing the dark, humid cavern leading down the monster's throat, Piccolo realized its intentions.  The monster growled- _Goku_ growled - before Piccolo was set loose from the tortuous grip and flung forward.  
  
Piccolo's eyes bulged as he was sent into the abyss.  Swallowed by darkness, he screamed as he fell.  
  
Piccolo sat up with a start, shivering.  He looked around for the monster, but it was nowhere in sight.  His skin was drenched in sweat.  All Piccolo could hear around him was the crickets' song and the soft whir of air as a cool breeze blew against his prickled flesh.  The mountains around him were restored to their prior glory, no longer in pieces on the ground.  
  
It was only a dream.  With a shaky exhale, Piccolo balled his fists in his lap.  It felt so real.  He raised his eyes to the sky, still wary that he'd see the moon hanging in it.  When his eyes lit on the speckled darkness above, he realized the sky was just as vacant as he remembered leaving it.  
  
Piccolo shook his head and stood.  He had to check on the kid, just to be sure.  He levitated cautiously, before flying and weaving between mountains to where he last saw the kid.  Nothing followed this time.  He was once again the most threatening creature in this wilderness.  
  
When his eyes lit on the brightly colored gi of the boy curled up on a soft patch of grass, Piccolo came to a halt.  He hovered there, crossing his arms as he watched the rising of the sleeping boy's rounded shoulder.  Gohan's tail was draped softly across the grass at his side, a cruel reminder of the ape that haunted his dream.  But that ape, or any other, was no threat to Piccolo now.  He _had_ destroyed the moon.  The Saiyans wouldn't be able to use it.  And Goku...  
  
Piccolo looked to the sky again, knowing Goku was up there somewhere, probably training right that moment.  Piccolo’s old rival would be back on Earth with the arrival of the Saiyans.  Knowing the dragon balls would undo his work and resurrect Son Goku soon enough, Piccolo couldn't be completely satisfied with his long-awaited kill.

Piccolo hated relying on Son Goku's power to help with this next threat.  Goku's help had been necessary with Raditz, and if these Saiyans were as powerful as Raditz claimed, his help would be necessary again.  But as Piccolo thought of Goku's return, the fear he'd been experiencing seemed to dwindle. 

Was the sinking feeling in the pit of Piccolo's stomach really stemming from the inevitability of Son Goku's resurrection?  Son Goku wasn't the type to hold a grudge, even if he knew Piccolo enjoyed killing him along with his brother.  Even if he knew Piccolo took his child after his death.  This fear of Goku coming for revenge, Piccolo knew, was unwarranted.  
  
There had to be another reason his deceased Saiyan nemesis terrorized his sleep in the form of a monster.  
  
Piccolo blinked as something caught his eye.  In the black sky, a star twinkled as if someone up there was winking down at him, all too aware of his thoughts.  
  
Casting his gaze down at the dark-haired boy sleeping in blissful ignorance below him, Piccolo shook his head.  His worries were getting to him.  The Saiyans would arrive in a few months.  The boy had a long way to go before he'd be useful in the fight.  It was the other Saiyans that should concern Piccolo, not Son Goku.  
  
And yet, all reasoning aside, Piccolo couldn't shake this feeling that he, rather than Son Goku, would be the one dead after _this_ fight. 

Perhaps that was the true fear of what was coming.


End file.
